Lance Armstrong gets Giro d'Italia, '09 invite

October 10, 2:34 PMCycling ExaminerJames Raia

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The global business appeal of Lance Armstrong’s pending return to the pro pelton keeps expanding.

Armstong has been officially invited to the 2009 Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) by race director Angelo Zomegnan, according to the Italian daily sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport. Zomegnan is the former sports editor of the newspaper.

The Tour of Italy will celebrate its centenary next May; Amstrong has never ridden in the Tour of Italy. The seven-time Tour de France winner is set to begin his comeback next January in the Tour Down Under, beginning January 20 in Adelaide.

Last month,  Armstrong hinted he’d like to race in the Giro, adding that not competing in the event was one of the regrets of his career.

“Not participating in the Giro was a regret of mine,” said Armstrong. “I would love to try that, with their 100th year anniversary,” Armstrong said. “I’ve never done it before. There’s no precedent, it’s definitely a departure. It depends on how you race a Giro. If you went to win and raced to win, I would be concerned that you couldn’t recover in time (for the Tour de France). Considering that I haven’t raced the past three and a half years, part of this is needing some race days, more that I normally got in other years.”

The 2009 Tour of Italy will be held May 9-31.